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Wednesday, January 25, 2012

The spirit of Tasmania

My Husband and I had spent the latter part of 2011 planning our belated honeymoon to Tasmania. After our magnificent wedding in March we simply did not have the time to go away immediately and we waited until the end of the year for our holiday.

Tassie Devil

Little did I realise that one day I would be standing within walking distance of a Tasmanian Devil. The encounter above took place at at NatureWorld in Bicheno, Tasmania.

The old Oak tree at Bridestowe Estate

Bridestowe Estate is a hidden gem. The fields of Lavender are hidden amongst the hills and the smell drifting across the the fields is incredible. The cafe and the gift shop sell every possible combination of lavender scented products and goodies. I sampled the lavender chocolate cake and helped myself to several of the lavender recipe cards to attempt upon my return to Melbourne.

Bridestowe Estate

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Port Huon offered waterfront serenity, local fruit stalls and the most flavoursome dark purple cherries on offer in Tasmania with a flavour so deep they almost taste like they have been infused with vanilla. I ate a LOT of cherries in Tasmania.

Port Huon waterfront vista

Nobody tells you about the mountainous trek to get the best view of Wine Glass bay. Believe me, the effort is more than worth it. My husband and I had a picnic on the beach and dipped our toes in the not so warm water.

Wine Glass Bay

Bicheno is a short drive from Freycinet national park and it offers a glimpse of the scenery to come along the east coast. Unfortunately we didn't make it to the Bay of Fires, instead we headed west and stayed in Stanley.

Bicheno

Stanley proved to be the perfect spot to relax and wind down on the last few days of the trip. We stayed in a magical cabin with its own mini lake outside, complete with its own pedal boat. We traversed The Nut on foot and braved the icy winds atop this old volcano plug.

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Cray Pots in Hobart

Tasmania is renowned for its fresh produce and abundance of seafood and premium meat. Two weeks allowed plenty of time to sample the delights in each area. Rather than go into a detailed description of everything we ate, here is a list of my favourites:

﻿﻿The Drunken Admiral restaurant in Hobart, for the Indian spiced blue eye fillet with lime juiced yogurt and the seared scallops served on a hot rock.

Rosie's Gluten Free Cafe in Kettering. Everything on the menu was an option for me which was delightful. The seafood pie and my husbands burger were both delicious. The dessert cabinet was packed with gf goodies.

Kermandie Hotel in Huonville. A pub with remarkable views across the river and valleys. Tasty lamb salad and excellent salmon.

Lark Distillery. Whilst we didn't eat here, it was a cosy spot to sample Tasmanian whisky and pepperberry vodka.

Tasmania, the apple isle, filled with adventure and devilishly good cherries...I will be returning!

The Tasmanian countryside is spectacular, it reminded me of Scotland and Ireland, rugged, green and mystical. We caught the ferry across from Melbourne to Launceston just in time to celebrate the New Year in Launceston.

2 comments:

Hello Julie! Sounds like you had an amazing time in Tasmania! I love the sound of the cherries and all the cafes! I'm about to pop over to Rome for a few days, just me and my dad, to use up some holidays. I'm looking forward to sampling some Italian delicacies. I've been baking with lavender and I love it. I attempted to make lavender gin which smelt amazing but 2 months may be a bit too long a brewing period (bit overpowering!) but lavender shortbread is one of my new all time favourites. I'm going to buy myself a big pot of lavender to grow at home and hopefully incorporate it into more cooking.Looking forward to reading more soon. Lots of love Lauren x x x x

How was Rome? Bet you had a lovely weekend away with your dad, I would love to do something like that with my dad!! Did you get to sample many delicacies? I have to say that after visiting the lavender farm I was 'lavendered' out, it was INTENSE - the chocolate cake I tried with lavender in was lovely I have to admit. Lavender shortbread sounds very nice! I tried growing lavender but I had no joy - no idea what I did wrong, everyone else on the streets seems to be able to grow acres of it! :)